Should the government have the power to kill corporations?

[Martin]

Much in the same way it can kill people? If a corporation repeated violates laws and is harmful to society, should the government be able to revoke their corporate charters?


Link with examples of how various gov'ments are trying to do this.

 

[shiner]

Sure if we want to totally destroy our economy and way of life.

 

[fatbaby]

So that means no more food, power, and entertainment for us?

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

No. God, no. The beauty of our economy is the weak companies will slowly (or quickly in the case of Enron) weed themselves out from the rest of their respective industry. Only the strong will survive. The government should play no part.

 

[Harvey]

Corporations are regarded as citizens of the state of incorporation. They are a creature of the state, and the state should have the right to regulate their behavior, including enforcing the laws that are on the books and updating those laws if they allow a corporation to behave in a manner contrary to the public interest.

If the corporation happens to be Philip Morris, death is too good for them. :|

 

[shiner]

Oh yes...the evil tobacco companies....giving cigarettes to babies fresh from the womb. Give me a break....

 

[Martin]

<< So that means no more food, power, and entertainment for us? >>




and why should that be?

Or did you not bother reading the article I linked to?

 

[StageLeft]

[w]If a corporation repeated violates laws and is harmful to society, should the government be able to revoke their corporate charters?[/i] >>

No, they should give ever increasingly painful penalties against the company until they either go bankrupt or stop being jackasses!

 

[vi edit]

Sort of a misleading title. Most of the references in that thread are done on a state level, voted in by the residents of that state.

It's all part of being a democracy. If the voting public doesn't want it, so be it.

 

[b0mbrman]

I do believe that's BS as people who have no stake in the company have no stake in not voting against for it to be killed.

And how is this the gov't killing a corporation? The examples listed are almost all about popular vote trying to kill companies...

 

[Ultima]

<< Oh yes...the evil tobacco companies....giving cigarettes to babies fresh from the womb. Give me a break.... >>



they lied and deceived the public did they not? The CEOS of the company that lied to the govt. and said "No, cigs are not addictive". Whatever your personal opinion, they obviously had THEIR best interests at heart and not yours.



<< When a corporation is convicted of repeated felonies that harm or endanger the lives of human beings or destroy our environment, the corporation should be put to death, its corporate existence ended, and its assets taken and sold at public auction >>



I agree with this. I didn't even know that corporations couldn't be "erased".

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Why not? If we were socialist...

 

[gopunk]

um, what makes corporations above the law? i don't understand some of you people, if they are breaking laws then they should be punished.

 

[Ultima]

Yeah. The fines suck right now. A corporation might do something that will net it say 5 million in profits, and if caught it might get fined 1 million. That's 4 million it gets to keep.

 

[Nemesis77]

Aren't corporations regarded as legal persons before the law? If nation can kill it's citizens, why couldn't they do it to companies? I personally think that massive fines would be better idea than "killing" a company.

 

[compuwiz1]

Only when we become communist, then I'm bailing!

 

[TheOmegaCode]

<< Only when we become communist, then I'm bailing! >>


I don't believe there are corporations in a truley communist society. I think you're thinking of socialism...


*I could be wrong, let me check my 'festo...

 

[Nemesis77]

<< Only when we become communist, then I'm bailing! >>



Like I said in my post, if nation can kill (execute) it's citizens, why couldn't it legally do so to companies? Why is it OK to kill real, living persons, but not companies?

 

[rgwalt]

I think the nation should have the right to shut down a company and seize its assets. Furthermore, the people in the company responsible for the violations should be arrested and imprisioned. Corporations aren't above the law. Leaving the companies to do whatever they wanted would be bad for the consumer as they would abuse the environment and form monopolies screwing the consumer out of a lot of money. For instance, if the government lifted restrictions from your power company, they would start poisoning your air and water, and start charging you outragious prices for power. What could you do? Most places in the US only have one choice for a power company.

However, the power to kill corporations must be regulated. You wouldn't want the government to go nuts shutting companies down and taking their money.

Ryan

 

[yakko]

<< If the corporation happens to be Philip Morris, death is too good for them. >>

Why? Phillip Morris is one of the best companies out there. They have many fine products that a lot of consumers enjoy. They also donate large amounts of money to charities that would otherwise get a lot less. You really should provide some valid information about why you want such a great company destroyed.

 

[yakko]

<< Whatever your personal opinion, they obviously had THEIR best interests at heart and not yours. >>

Welcome to the world of business. They all have their own best interest at heart because they are the ones that need to survive. Do you honestly think that any company cares about you as anything more than a potential source of income?

 

[MC]

Welcome to the real world.

The government have the power to do everything. Believe it or not.